Date Of Article: 3/27/2003
To Print This Story Goto File > Print
<<Back
Chiwaya quizzed at his house
By: Aubrey Mchulu
UDF Blantyre urban district governor Eric Chiwaya, who dragged 23 residents of Manase Township including a village chief to court for allegedly assaulting him and damaging his property, on Thursday testified at his house in the township before presiding Blantyre Second Grade Magistrate Diana Mangwana. Quizzing Chiwaya in cross-examination, Deputy Chief Legal Aid Advocate Gaston Mwenelupembe put it to him that practically it was difficult for him to identify the suspects and what they were doing behind his car while he was in his dining-room and considering it was night. But Chiwaya, who was attacked for allegedly harbouring “bloodsuckers”, told the court that there was moonlight complemented by his house’s security lights hence he was able to see who was doing what to his car. However, Mwenelupembe further put it to Chiwaya that he could not be able to dodge stones getting into his house through the open windows and those thrown on the roof of his house and at the same time be able to identify the suspects who were throwing them from the gate of his house which is not visible from the dining-room because of the walls. To this Chiwaya responded: “I saw the people at the gate when I peeped through living room windows before getting out of the house to find out what wrong I had done to the people. This was the time when I was stoned and injured in the face.” Mwenelupembe’s assertion that Chiwaya could not be able to identify throwers of stones that landed on roof of his house apparently angered Chiwaya who lost his cool and told the court that he was summoned to answer questions relating to damage done to his car by the 23 suspects who include a village head. But Mangwana intervened and told Chiwaya that in cross-examination a witness can be asked even irrelevant-sounding questions. Chiwaya showed the court damaged iron sheets in the roof of his house and walls which he attributed to stones thrown by the people he estimated to be 300 “because they were all over the place.” Mangwana adjourned hearing of the case to Friday afternoon. The case took an ugly twist on March 4, 2003 when UDF Young Democrats in Chiwaya’s company beat-up and injured four people using panga knives prompting Mangwana to recuse herself from the case on grounds of lack of security. She however made a U-Turn after Police assured that security for the magistrate, witnesses, suspects and defence lawyers will be available. There were only the magistrate, lawyers, court clerks, Chiwaya, police prosecutor and journalists when the court convened at Chiwaya’s house.
<<Back
© 2001-2002 Nation Publications Limited, All Rights Reserved